Emily Maitlis reveals Prince Andrew was happy with his BBC Newsnight interview

BBC’s Emily Maitlis reveals Prince Andrew was HAPPY with his Newsnight interview, as she praises his ‘candour’ despite car-crash results

  • Maitlis said it seemed as if Prince Andrew, 59, was ‘definitely happy with it’ 
  • Queen forced her son to step down from royal duties after terrible backlash 
  • But BBC interviewer praised his ‘candour’ and bid to confront public opinion  

It is widely regarded as the ‘car crash’ interview that eventually forced Prince Andrew to step back from public life.

But the Duke of York was ‘happy’ after filming the Newsnight programme about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, according to Emily Maitlis.

The BBC presenter said she had not expected the furore over the interview by critics who lambasted Andrew for failing to show regret or empathy for Epstein’s victims.

He repeatedly denied claims he had sex with one of the women, Virginia Roberts, when she was 17 – but was then accused of lying by Miss Roberts.

The interview also led to renewed calls for Andrew, 59, to be interviewed by the FBI about his friendship with disgraced financier Epstein, who was found dead in his prison cell earlier this year.

Miss Maitlis praised the Duke for his ‘candour’ in answering her questions in an age when many public figures attempted to avoid scrutiny.

Prince Andrew was ‘happy’ after filming the Newsnight programme about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, according to Emily Maitlis  (pictured together before interview) 

She said that after the interview, her impression from him ‘was definitely that he had been happy with it’. 

She told the Radio Times she had been shocked by the public reaction to it, saying: ‘I didn’t see it coming.

Pictured: Jeffrey Epstein before he killed himself in a New York prison cell

Pictured: Jeffrey Epstein before he killed himself in a New York prison cell 

‘It wasn’t an attempt to bring down the royals, just a chance to understand the story.’

She added: ‘I admire him for his candour and his engagement with the questions in an age of so much deviation and circumnavigation, and quite often a failure to put yourself up for scrutiny.’

During the interview, Prince Andrew said he did not recall meeting Miss Roberts and emphatically denied that he had sex with her.

On the occasion she said they first met in 2001 – when she claimed she was ‘trafficked’ to Britain by Epstein – he said he spent the day with his daughter Princess Beatrice and then took her to Pizza Express in Woking for a party.

He also questioned Miss Roberts’ account of them dancing together at the London nightclub Tramp, when she said he was sweating heavily.

The Duke of York said he had suffered from a medical condition at the time which meant he did not sweat.

He also sought to cast doubt on the authenticity of a photograph that showed him with his arm around Miss Roberts’ waist, but conceded that it was difficult to prove if it was a fake.

Miss Maitlis (pictured during interview) praised the Duke for his 'candour' in answering her questions in an age when many public figures attempted to avoid scrutiny

Miss Maitlis (pictured during interview) praised the Duke for his ‘candour’ in answering her questions in an age when many public figures attempted to avoid scrutiny

Andrew admitted he had ‘let the side down’ when he had failed to cut ties with Epstein immediately after he was jailed in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor, and registered as a sex offender. 

The Prince said he visited him in New York in 2010, after Epstein’s release, to break off the friendship, but regretted staying at his house while he was there.

He told Miss Maitlis: ‘It was not something that was becoming of a member of the Royal Family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and I let the side down, simple as that.’ 

After the Newsnight interview was broadcast in November, several of Andrew’s business sponsors for his Pitch@Palace initiative announced they would no longer back the project. 

Many of his royal patronages also sought to distance themselves from him and he eventually announced he was stepping down from all his patronages and his royal duties. 

Meanwhile Miss Roberts, now known by her married name Virginia Giuffre, gave her own interview to Panorama in which she insisted the Duke was lying when he denied meeting her.

She said she had felt ‘ashamed and dirty’ after they had sex, adding: ‘I had just been abused by a member of the Royal Family.’

She told the Radio Times she had been shocked by the public reaction to Prince Andrew's TV appearance, saying: 'I didn't see it coming.'

She told the Radio Times she had been shocked by the public reaction to Prince Andrew’s TV appearance, saying: ‘I didn’t see it coming.’

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